Crafting For Those Dedicated to Experimentation

contest

Before getting into a review, I have to state that this book ROCKS! So does the contest Jacey Boggs Faulkner is running on Ravelry, Instagram, etc. to give away subscriptions to her magazine Ply. #PlyMagazine

Yarn is not nearly as simple as non-crafts-people would have you believe. “There’s like, bulky, and really tiny, right?” ; “What do you mean linen is from a plant, it’s a cloth right?” ; “Doesn’t that hurt the sheep?” ; etc. There are plenty of non crafts people that have a clue, so I’m not putting all non crafts people down, just the ignorant ones, lol. Because of this, for you non crafts people, if you have a SO or loved one that is into any fiber craft, pick up this book so you can start to throw around terms like low-twist singles, coil yarn, or z twist with ease. Or at least have a clue of what they are talking about when they throw those terms around.

For people interested in crafts already, or active crafters this is a great book. Originally I was going to say, if you like/love/live & breathe spinning then this is a good book for you, but scratch that. If you have any interest in fiber arts/crafts then this is a great book for you. I imagine that there are plenty of K&Cs (knitters & crocheters) that see the Koigu yarns (very pretty yarns that seem to come as singles a lot of the time) and have not known that this is only one kind of yarn. Why should you use 2, 3, or 5 ply yarns? Why aren’t there many 20 ply yarns? This is a worsted weight yarn, what do you mean worsted spun? Etc. I think that this should be titled 51 Yarns to spin & Knit/Crochet/Weave before you cast off, because I think that any fiber artists would benefit from a deeper understanding of the yarns available for their crafts, how they are constructed, and why they do what they do.

Ply Magazine, to celebrate their first book, is going to be hosting a Year-Long Spin-Along. 51 Weeks of chances to win a year-long subscription to their magazine. Being honest with myself, I cannot express how very happy I am that I pre-ordered this book before I even knew about the contest. Now I get to participate, you can without purchase, follow along, and I saved $4 off of the cover price, lol. This brings my thrifty heart a great deal of joy. More importantly than all of that, this will bring 51 weeks of challenges to one extent or another. The first few are easy enough, but I hope I will be able to get to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival this year so I can pick up some supplies for a few of the challenges. Spinning a dual coated sheep will be interesting, but I have to find a source for the outer coat, a source for the inner coat, and a source where I can buy both coats mixed together. Likewise with the lock spinning, I can find them, but my thrifty soul has issues with spending $10+ on an ounce of locks (very pretty locks don’t get me wrong) then another $5+ for shipping and handling. If I can get a good price on some pretty locks at the festival then go me. If I cannot get there this year, that is up in the air and I’ll blog when I know, then I’ll have to suck it up and find some good sales.